Generally, it is difficult to produce shaped cheese products in the form of a block, etc., by first drying these shaped products and then attempting to reconstitute these products with hot water. This difficulty arises because "oil off" or the production of a clear layer of fat results when such hot water is mixed with these shaped products, and the original viscosity of the cheese almost disappears, resulting in a crumbly mouth feel, thereby making it undesirable for use in instant foods.
In this respect, Japanese Patent Kokai No. 61-135542 discloses a process for producing dried natural cheese which comprises adding water to a raw material which . is natural cheese or a mixture of a plurality of natural cheeses, mixing the raw material and water in such a degree that the raw material is uniformly admixed with water without emulsification, and freeze-drying the resulting mixture. In its specification, it is disclosed that, when natural cheese and water is merely admixed, the resulting product is liable to cause oil-off and that, when natural cheese and water is strongly mixed to prevent oil-off, the desired original viscosity of the cheese is almost lost and a crumbling mouth feel results therefrom. Thus, the specification discloses that mixing with a cutter mixer, a silent cutter, a mixing machine having a mortar and a pestle or the like is too strong and cannot be employed.
According to the present inventors' study, the above process is effective for preventing oil-off when the natural cheese and water is mixed. However, prevention of oil-off when the resulting product is reconstituted with hot water after drying is insufficient. Further, although addition of water and the mixing operation in the above process is effective for improving the reconstitution properties with hot water, shape retention (rounded corners of cubes and mozzarella type appearance may be allowable but dispersion should be prevented) of the resulting product when reconstituted tends to be impaired. This tendency appears more remarkable when cheese having a higher water content is used as the raw material, or a mozzarella type product is desired. And, the resulting cheese product is dispersed at the moment of addition of hot water thereto.
Under these circumstances, the present inventors have studied intensively to obtain a shaped dried cheese having excellent properties when reconstituted with hot water which hardly causes oil-off at reconstitution with hot water and is suitable as an ingredient of instant foods. As a result, it has been found that a shaped dried cheese having excellent properties when reconstituted with hot water, which hardly causes oil-off at reconstitution with hot water, can be obtained by stirring a water-containing mixture which contains emulsified cheese as an essential raw material at a temperature lower than its melting temperature, and drying the mixture in a shaped state. Further, it has been also found that, in order to improve the shape retention when reconstituted with hot water, it is effective that the water-containing mixture contains a heat coagulable substance.